


A Conspiracy of Marriages

by nerakrose



Category: Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Politics, Post-Canon, background Granby/Little - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-21 13:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17044856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerakrose/pseuds/nerakrose
Summary: Wherein Laurence would just really like to live a quiet, non-scandalous life, thank you very much, except then Temeraire getsreallyinto marriage laws.





	A Conspiracy of Marriages

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smaragdbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/gifts).



> Happy holidays, smaragdbird! I loved your requests and especially the idea of Laurence getting involved in more scandals, so this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it. :) 
> 
> Betaed by my ever trusty and wonderful beta, M. All remaining mistakes are mine.

“Oh Laurence, they are going to take away my seat in parliament!” Temeraire was understandably and appropriately agitated about this. Laurence, however, was confused.

“They can’t,” he said. “Your seat is tied to the estate, and your legal residence is at the estate—” 

“Yes, but there was a vote!” Temeraire cried. “There has been established a committee for the purpose of ‘reviewing the function and purpose of dragon seats’ and there aren’t _any_ dragons on the committee.” Temeraire’s temper rose. “I _did_ volunteer myself.”

“What did they say?”

“That having a dragon on the committee would be a _conflict of interest_.” Temeraire snorted, his opinion clear. “Honestly, Laurence! This is an obvious ploy to take away _all_ our seats!”

Temeraire had thus far been the only dragon to have a seat in parliament, owing in large part to the gerrymandering of the dragon seats in the first place; the allotted dragon seats had been distributed to districts with little to no dragon population to speak of—seeing as how most dragons were based out of coverts or breeding grounds. Temeraire was already an exception rather than a rule.

“Well,” Laurence said, diplomatically. “What are you going to do about it?” It wasn’t that he wasn’t sympathetic to Temeraire’s plight—he absolutely was, and what was more, he was aghast at these decidedly undemocratic proceedings—but he also knew that his own word held little sway, all things considered. There’d been one too many scandals attached to his name as it were, getting involved in politics would just serve to further mire him in. His family certainly didn’t need Laurence's name bandied about again, no matter the context.

And Laurence was quite happy to retire to a quiet, non-scandalous life, in the countryside, where the most exciting thing he had to deal with was estate management. Little scandal in that. 

“I will form a dragon union,” Temeraire declared. “I will persuade other dragons to take seats in parliament, so that I shall have allies. We would be able to vote against having our seats taken away.”

“That’s a splendid idea,” said Tharkay, having come to see what the excitement was about. “Do you have a plan?”

Temeraire did not have a plan, but he would come up with one, he declared, and went to his pavilion to strategise.

~*~

Temeraire's Dragon Union didn't...quite...succeed. There were plenty of dragons that wanted to join the union, of course, but very few had captains, and even fewer had legal residencies in districts with dragons seats, or the means to move there. So for all of Temeraire's tireless efforts, all he had to show was a list of signatures.

He still held his seat, however, as the committee had not yet reached a conclusion. That might have been in part because Temeraire had gone to great lengths to inconvenience them at every turn, asking for reports and studies to back up their claims, and presenting them with his own—written and co-written by other dragons.

And then—then, in a fit of pique, when a committee member had suggested dragons needed to be chaperoned, Temeraire had said: "Next you are going to propose that we shall marry our captains and become their wives, so that we may own no property and have no rights at all, and must have their permission at all times to leave our residences!" and the committee had taken it _seriously_.

~*~

"But that's impossible—pardon the comparison, but I can no less marry you, than I can marry a cow," Laurence said. "Since legally, you are animals, and legally, a human can not marry an animal."

" _Precisely_ ," said Temeraire with an air of triumph. "Which is to say, if they require dragons to marry their captains in order to stay a fully fledged member of Parliament, they will have to grant us personhood."

"And once you have personhood, you have full protection under the law, and thus won't actually have to marry in order to be in Parliament, seeing as marriage is not a prerequisite for current Parliament members," Tharkay said, seemingly having picked up on where Temeraire was going with this.

"Have I understood the situation correctly?" Laurence asked, desperately. "You are going to take this outrageous demand and treat it like—like it’s not ridiculous at all, and actively push for it to come into law, that is to say: you and I are going to be _married_?" 

_There_ was an unexpected development. Laurence had certainly entertained the notion of marriage; he'd once hoped to marry Edith, but then put off making her an offer for so long that she'd married someone else, and he'd offered Jane—and Jane had turned him down. It wasn't that marriage itself was offputting to him, but he'd thought that if he were to get married, it would be to a woman. _A human being_.

"Yes, of course," Temeraire answered.

Laurence turned to Tharkay in his desperation. "Is there no other way?"

Tharkay shrugged, eyes twinkling. "I would offer you my hand in marriage, but I'm afraid the law doesn't permit men to marry each other either."

There, at last, a lifeline. "Temeraire, you are male," Laurence pointed out. "We simply _cannot_ marry. It can't be done. Your strategy won’t work."

"I shall have to amend the proposal," Temeraire said, thoughtfully. "I have to say, human laws are very nonsensical. What does gender have to do with anything? No, I will see the law amended and we will be married, Laurence, I’ll make sure of it."

"I thought there weren't going to be any further scandals," Laurence said, faintly. 

Tharkay leaned over to whisper in his ear. "You mean other than the ones that happen in our bedroom?"

Laurence flushed.

Temeraire paused in his musings to peer at them suspiciously. Then he raised himself up, somewhat imperiously. "You may leave," he said.

" _What?_ "

"Come," said Tharkay, rising from the chair. "I want to see more of that blush." Mischievously, he added: "You know, since your _dragon-fiancé_ permitted it."

~*~

Temeraire really did take this new proposition to Parliament. Laurence knew that because he received a letter from Granby expressing his complete and utter bewilderment that Iskierka was insisting they needed to marry each other so that she might exert her influence over those pesky Parliament types, and vote into law that she should receive several more cows than she already did. Iskierka seemed to be missing a few figures from her calculations, and so Laurence wrote Granby a letter attempting to explain.

Granby evidently did not take much stock in Laurence’s explanations, because next thing Laurence knew, Granby had invited himself over.

“What is this about dragon-captain marriages?” Granby said, the moment he was safely indoors and out of Iskierka’s hearing range. Little had come with him, as was his habit, and Immortalis with him; though Laurence had had a hard time adjusting to living in sin with Tharkay, he did take great pleasure in having friends who lived their life in the same manner, amongst whom he could speak somewhat freely. 

“It’s about seats,” Laurence tried to explain. “And democracy.” 

“But _marriage_?” Granby explained. “I am not the marrying sort, and I’m not about to change that by marrying a bloody _dragon._ ”

“I doubt anyone expects it to be a _biblical_ marriage,” Tharkay commented. 

“Good heavens,” Granby exclaimed, looking quite disturbed. Laurence had to agree; he’d do a lot for Temeraire, and with him, but _this_ was unthinkable. “I should bloody well hope not.”

“A marriage in name only,” Laurence said, as if he was trying to convince himself. “I should’ve liked something more...actually, I would like things to remain as they are. I know air corps folk don’t often marry, but I believe this would effectively _prevent_ them from doing so, and that....”

“I would make the obvious bigamy joke," Tharkay said, "but nobody in present company is wanting a wife." He punctuated this statement with a smirk.

"But... _dragons_ ," Granby said.

Laurence rang for a servant and asked for several bottles of wine.

~*~

Granby and Little stayed at the estate for a few weeks, peace times being what they were, string pulling being another thing, and besides, the dragons enjoyed each other's company. 

Naturally, this also meant that Iskierka was conspiring with Temeraire (Immortalis weighing in) about politics and votes and proposals and seats and long games versus short-sighted actions. Every now and then Immortalis and Iskierka would tell Little and Granby that so and so seat was vacant, and the one in the neighbouring district just happened to also be free, and could they move there? 

"I'm relieved you don't have a dragon of your own," Laurence commented to Tharkay, after having witnessed another round of discussion between their house guests. "Can you imagine, _our_ dragons conspiring to get into Parliament while also matchmaking the two of us?"

"Your one dragon manages that all very well on his own," Tharkay replied with a shrug.

Laurence frowned. Temeraire was already _in_ Parliament, and also very well aware of the nature of Laurence's and Tharkay's relationship, so Tharkay's comment seemed a tad cryptic. Still, Temeraire was doing his best to retain his seat in Parliament, and Iskierka and Immortalis could hardly be faulted for wanting seats of their own, or for their captains to be together—perhaps the best course of action for them would be to have a number of dragon seats assigned to each covert, to be democratically filled, so that Granby and Little need not move to greener pastures with considerable geographic distances between them. Laurence rose to go and speak with them. He did not notice the soft smile Tharkay bestowed upon him as he went.

~*~

It took Temeraire two weeks to argue that in order to marry his captain, he should be granted personhood, and the day it was voted into law he put on all his finest jewellery and asked Laurence to put on his finest gold (this, naturally, included the robes Temeraire had given him in China, embroidered with gold and laden with green gemstones), so that they might celebrate in style.

"It becomes you," Tharkay said to Laurence, giving him an appreciative look.

"I feel like I'm already trussed up for a dragon wedding," Laurence replied, trying to resist the urge to tug at his collar. Temeraire was happy, so Laurence was happy to indulge him—for now.

"Have you prepared your vows?" Granby asked with a grin. He, too, was all trussed up; wearing his gold hook instead of the more practical steel one. 

Laurence gave him a dirty look. "Have you prepared _yours_?"

"I shan't need them," he answered. "Our dragons might be people now, but I sincerely doubt all this marriage nonsense will come to pass."

"I believe _some_ marriage nonsense will be passed," Tharkay said. "Temeraire is certainly working very hard for it."

"That he is," Laurence agreed, half affectionate and half exasperated. "I suppose I will marry him, when it really comes down to it," he added. "He enjoys politics so much, and I couldn't possibly stand in his way—much as it pains me to think of what it'll do to my family's reputation. Married to a _dragon_!" Laurence shook his head. "And I thought it was bad enough to be captain of one."

Tharkay put a hand on Laurence's shoulder. "It'll be worth it," he said, softly. "I promise."

~*~

Granby and Little eventually returned to the covert, their dragons with them, and Temeraire continued his mission to ensure the longevity of his seat in Parliament.

"Since we are people now," he explained to Laurence, "and a few more dragons have seats now, we have formed a House of Dragons."

He was drawing with a claw in the dirt outside his pavilion to illustrate where it placed in the hierarchy.

"There's the House of Lords, here, and House of Commons, here, and the House of Dragons, here. We currently have five dragons in the House, which isn't much, but it's certainly better than _one_." Temeraire's facial expression could best be described as dubious. "Even if one of them is Iskierka. She'll only vote for silly things."

Laurence was somewhat concerned about this House of Dragons. "Has it been approved?" 

"It will be," Temeraire said.

"Have you threatened to blow down the building if they don't?"

"I may have insinuated it," Temeraire replied, shifty. "If only so that our position will be strengthened. Once the House of Dragons is a proper part of the political machine, it will be much harder to limit our influence later."

"Of course," said Laurence, diplomatically. "But you can't use the threat of the divine wind every time somebody opposes you."

"Of course not. We are _much_ more civilised than that." Temeraire turned up his nose. "However, we might fart."

Laurence laughed. "A far worse threat. Very well, I wish you luck. Next step: marriage?"

~*~

Surprisingly—or perhaps not—it was suddenly proving difficult to actually get the dragon-captain marriage proposal approved. Though Parliament had liked the suggestion at first (owing, in no doubt, to the fact it would grant dragons the same status as married women, that is to say: a demotion—a proposition that several of the crusty old men were heavily in favour of), they were now hemming and hawing.

The seasons changed, and Laurence's life with Tharkay continued in much the same manner as it always had; managing the estate with Tharkay, sharing his bed, long walks on the heath, flights with Temeraire: all the delights life could offer. He'd even considered taking up amateur painting, if only because he could. It was private and non-scandalous, and aside from Temeraire's reports on political proceedings, largely uneventful.

Until one day Temeraire returned from Parliament triumphant, and since Laurence had gone for a ride with Tharkay that afternoon, came bearing down upon them on the road, and in his excitement almost managed to frighten the horses to death.

"Laurence!" he cried, landing in front of them. "There was a vote!"

"Oh?" Tharkay asked, eyebrow raised, even as he was calming his horse. " _Which_ vote, exactly?"

"The bill for 'the union of minds, body, and hearts of men born free and equal, the freedom to enter into a partnership, marriage, or political bond'," Temeraire exhaled. " _Political bond_ is a terrible euphemism for dragon-captain marriages," he added. "There's a subclause, which allows women the same freedom, because of how some dragons only take female riders."

Laurence was dumbfounded. He knew Temeraire had been working on this, but for it to become a reality that would directly impact his life? He'd been hoping it would never come to pass. "Are you saying," he said, weakly, "that you and I are about to get married?"

"No," Tharkay said, grinning. "He's saying you and _I_ can get married now."

"What," said Laurence, flatly. "No—surely you must be joking?"

"Men born free and equal," Tharkay repeated. "You're a man. I'm a man. We are free, we are equal. I notice, Temeraire, that this seems not to apply to former slaves?"

"There are very few abolitionists in Parliament," Temeraire said derisively. "However, Parliament haven't approved of bigamy, so you should absolutely get married so that _we_ don't have to, and since I'm a people now, I technically don't need to marry anybody at all!"

"But your seat," Laurence said. "What of your seat?"

"Yes, That silly Parliament haven't yet voted into law that dragons _must_ marry their captains, since I convinced them they had to vote this into effect _first_ , and now I'm going to make sure it'll never happen at all, since the House of Dragons is now firmly established, and we can block that vote. But Laurence, you must marry Tharkay immediately, before Parliament recognise their mistake."

Suddenly, Laurence understood. " _This_ was your plan all along?" He turned to Tharkay. "You were aware of this?"

Tharkay shrugged, but he had that infuriating twinkle in his eye that meant he absolutely had known about all of this all along. "What do you say? Will you marry me?"

Laurence struggled to not let the word _scandal_ pass over his lips, since he was reasonably certain his family would have objections to his marrying a _man_ —they'd have accepted a _dragon_ , after all—but Tharkay seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Will," Tharkay said, patiently. "It's not a scandal if it's legal."

"Your logic is sound," Laurence said, slowly. "I...I don't have a good counter-argument."

"You're not supposed to argue against it," Temeraire chimed in. 

This wasn't how Laurence had envisioned he'd end up married, but since he wasn't marrying a dragon… "You are certain that we can...do this?"

"Yes," Temeraire said, firmly.

"Parliament won't roll this law back when they realise what happened?"

"They can certainly _try_ ," Temeraire said.

"In that case, I accept your proposal," Laurence said to Tharkay. "I shall be delighted to marry you, Tenzing."

~*~

The paper reported on the new marriage laws the following day; Tharkay showed it to Laurence over late breakfast. They'd both of them indulged in bed that morning, and in true leisure fashion, hadn't gotten dressed yet. It was all right; the servants were used to it.

 _ **HUMANS AND DRAGONS TO MARRY**_ , it said, directly beneath a report about cabbage thefts. _As a result of an ongoing campaign by the dragon Temeraire, the bill titled 'The Equality of Marriages across Gender and Species' passed into law yesterday. The bill enables dragons and their captains to enter a political bond, as there has been a rally for stricter control of dragons by their captains. The bill ensures that the gender of the dragons or their captains is not a hindrance for their marriage, or political bond, as it was prior to the introduction of the bill._ Then followed a report about a girl and her beau's thwarted attempt to elope to Gretna Green.

Laurence read the bit aloud. "How long do you think it'll take for them to realise what they've done?" he mused.

"I propose we announce our nuptials in the paper," Tharkay said in reply, sipping his tea. "I would appreciate the chance to publicly thank Parliament for granting me the right to marry the love of my life."

"The love of your life?" Laurence paused. 

"That is perhaps an exaggeration," Tharkay said. "Though very true to my feelings."

"Ah," Laurence said. "Something just occurred to me."

"Have you had a change of heart?"

"Not at all." Laurence folded the paper and passed it back to Tharkay. "I need to write Granby a letter and explain what the hell is going on. And then, perhaps, wedding invitations."


End file.
